Ruby
by AbbieLou
Summary: May just moved to the Hoenn region. Follow her adventures and misadventures as she learns what it really means to be a trainer and to stand up for what is right.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone.

First fan fiction and all that jazz so let me know what you think.

The movers' Pokémon worked around me, carrying all of our boxes out of the truck and into the new house. I sat on the front lawn, my coat spread beneath, as I watched them work. My mom was running all around, in and out of the house, telling the movers and their Pokémon where to put our things. I saw one Pokémon walking by with a box labeled, "May's Junk."

"Hey wait," I called, jumping to my feet. The Pokémon stopped and looked at me as I jogged up to it. It was a Machoke, a muscular fighting Pokémon that stood just a few inches shorter than me. "That's my box. I'll take it in." The Pokémon hesitated, unsure about listening to someone other than its trainer, but after a moment handed the box to me. I took it back to my spot the lawn and dropped it. The box landed with a heavy thud and I sat back down before opening it up.

The first thing I pulled out was an old photo album, thrown in when I was packing as an afterthought. I tossed it to the side without opening it. Next I pulled out three Poke Balls, all empty. They had been a birthday present last year, from my dad with a promise to help me catch my first Pokémon.

My dad was a gym leader in Petalburg City, which meant he was always at the gym, helping new trainers and battling those that wished to challenge him for a badge. I grew up in another region, but we decided to move to the Hoenn region when my dad became the leader of the Petalburg gym. In Littleroot, we were still a few towns over from Petalburg, but much closer than the Johto region where we used to live.

"Terra, are you going to sit out here all day?" my mom asked. She was standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips in her "I'm serious," pose.

"Probably," I responded honestly, finally finding what I was really looking, my music player and headphones. I put them on and cranked up the volume, ending that conversation.

I leaned back and looked up at the sky, watching as a wild Taillow flew by. The movers eventually finished and drove away in their truck, leaving behind my mom and me. I rolled onto my stomach, watching as the truck that had driven us all the way from the Johto region disappeared. I was officially stranded in Littleroot.

I rolled back over and stared up at the house. I had yet to go inside but from out here I could tell it was a good house, for a gym leader. Pokémon trainers made little if any money, even gym leaders. Most of my dad's income came from what he won in battles, or from the tuition for his students, which he kept low on purpose. I wondered if my mom had dipped into her family money to afford the house. My mom comes from a very well to do family. It was no secret that my grandparents wished my mom had married someone more respectable, like a doctor or lawyer. They would throw a fit if they knew that I, their only grandchild, planned to become a Pokémon trainer as well.

A shadow fell over me as I inspected my new house. I glanced up to see a boy, about my age, dressed in trainer gear. He motioned to my headphones, which I took off. "Hey, you're the gym leader's kid, right?"

"Well, I prefer May, but yes, I'm the gym leader's kid," I said, sitting up. The boy offered his hand and helped me to my feet, having the decency to blush a bit.

"Sorry, I just knew that a gym leader's family was moving here. I wasn't expecting you to be a girl," he said.

I quirked an eyebrow and his blush deepened. "I didn't mean that how it sounded. I'm sure you're a great trainer."

"I'm actually not a trainer yet. No Pokémon," I explained.

"Really? Your dad is a gym leader and you don't have any Pokémon?" The boy was shocked, and with good reason. Most trainers started out young, and I was already sixteen and without a Pokémon.

"I just haven't had time to catch any. You know, with the move and all," I said with a shrug. The boy nodded, adjusting the bandana he had tied around his head.

"That makes sense, I guess. I only just got my first Pokémon, but I've been around them my entire life. I'm Brendan Birch by the way, Dr. Birch's son. We live right next door and my dad's lab is right down the street."

"My dad told me about Dr. Birch," I said. "He said he was brilliant. He didn't say anything about him having a son my age though."

Now Brendan shrugged. "Yeah, well I haven't exactly done anything mentionable yet," he said honestly. "But I'm going to. Actually, I'm leaving town tomorrow. I'm going to travel to all of the gyms to collect badges and catch more Pokémon on the way. My Treeko and I, we're going to challenge the Elite Four someday. It's really too bad though."

"What is?" I asked.

"That you only just got here and I'm leaving tomorrow. There aren't any other kids our age in Littleroot. It would have been nice to have someone to hang out with," he said, blushing again. "Anyways, I gotta go. I'm just getting back from the market in Oldale and I promised my mom I'd come back right away. Nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too," I said as he began to walk away.

I stayed outside for a while longer until the sun began to set and a chill crept into the air. I picked my coat up off the ground and slid it back on, throwing everything back into the box and carrying it in with me.

"Is that you May?" my mom called from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in five."

"Okay!" I called back. I headed up the stairs and found the room with all of my boxes; setting down the one I was carrying on my desk. There was some hideous pink and blue Marill wallpaper on the walls, but that would be easy to take off. The rest of the room was really nice.

"May! Come set the table!" my mom called up the stairs.

A/N: So, there it is. Sorry for the ending, wasn't really sure how to leave it. Second chapter will probably be up later tonight because who likes to read just one chapter? Please let me know if you see anything that is not accurate. This story is the result of a long winter break and the discovery of my old Gameboy while moving. I am by no means a Pokemon expert so please let me know if something doesn't make sense. On the other hand, I know the beginning doesn't follow the plot exactly. I'm changing a few things to make it more story friendly. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone.

The next morning I was up before the sun. I left a note for my mom on the fridge before grabbing my old, beat up running shoes and heading out the door. "Pokémon Trainers should be in as peak physical condition as they expect their Pokémon to be," my dad always told me. I started jogging down the street, heading for the route into the forest. I knew better than to go into the tall grass without a Pokémon, but if I stuck to the trail I should be safe. I just wouldn't tell my mom.

"Help!" I heard the cry about halfway into my run. My easy jog turned into a sprint as I raced to the aide of whoever was calling. "Anyone? Help me!"

I rounded a corner to see an older man being chased by a wild Poochyena. As I watched, the Pokémon backed the man up against a tree, growling threateningly. "Hey!" I yelled, running forward. The Poochyena barely spared me a glance, advancing on the poor man instead.

"Quickly! In my bag! There are Poke Balls! Get one of the Pokémon!" the man shouted to me, trying to get as far away from the wild Pokémon as he could. I glanced around frantically, spotting a yellow bag tossed to the side. I ran to it and started going through the pockets, finally locating the Poke Balls. "Hurry!"

I grabbed the first one I touched, jumping to my feet and running back to the man. I threw the Poke Ball in the air and watched as a blue mudfish Pokémon I was unfamiliar with appeared. "Uh," I stuttered as it stared at me blankly. "Tackle?" I said, naming the most common attack. To my surprise, the Pokémon leaped into action, tackling the Poochyena who was slowly advancing on the man.

The wild Poochyena howled in surprise, stumbling back before tackling the mudfish Pokémon. I gasped, jumping forward. The wild Poochyena was so much bigger and fiercer looking than the Pokémon I released. The mudfish Pokémon only took a moment to recover before tackling the Poochyena again, this time causing the Poochyena to flee.

"You did it!" I shouted, running to pick up the mudfish Pokémon.

"Thank you so much!" the man exclaimed. "I'm Dr. Birch. I was doing some fieldwork when that Pokémon jumped me. You were fantastic! Who are you?"

"Um," I said, taken back by his enthusiasm. The mudfish Pokémon settled in my arms. "Thank you. I'm May."

"May? Oh, May! You're Norman's daughter. Well, that explains your skill with Pokémon. But where are your Pokémon?"

"I, uh, I don't have any Pokémon," I admitted.

'"Really?" Dr. Birch said, looking thoughtful. "Well you're certainly old enough to have your own Pokémon. In fact, I just gave my son his first Pokémon. He left this morning to go train it and to help my research by catching other Pokémon. Maybe that's why I was so distracted today. His mother was so upset…" The doctor trailed off, looking distracted. There was a long moment before he seemed to snap out of it. "Anyway, this isn't exactly a good place to talk. Why don't you meet me at my lab later today."

He used to Poke Ball to recapture the mudfish Pokémon and my arms fell to my sides. He began collecting the rest of his belongings. "You better head back. There are all sorts of wild Pokémon on these trails." He bustled away, leaving me behind.

A/N: short chapter. Chapters will be posted as quickly as I can write them. This is a project until I go back to school but then I won't be able to write anymore so I will be writing as quickly as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone.

"Hey Mom," I shouted as I walked back into our house. "You won't believe what just happened!"

"May, come quickly! There's something on the TV about your father's gym!" I walked into the living room to see my mom sitting on the couch, watching intently as the reporter stood in front of a building I recognized only from photographs.

"I'm Gabby, bringing you this report from in front of the Petalburg gym. See you next time!" A commercial for Hyper Potions came on next and my mom was visibly disappointed.

"Oh, we must have missed it," she said. She turned to me. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I met Dr. Birch," I said.

"Oh," she said, standing up and walking to the kitchen. "That's nice. I just wish your father had told us he was going to be on TV, that way we could have looked for it."

"Mom, that's not even the best part," I complained, following her into the kitchen.

"Was he nice?" my mom asked.

"Yeah, he was really nice," I said quickly. "But…"

"Honey, I have a lot of unpacking left to do today. Why don't you tell me over dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, realizing that I wasn't going to be able to get her attention. "I'll tell you tonight."

"Why don't you go start unpacking your room?" I nodded and headed up the stairs, the adrenaline from this morning wearing off. I took a shower before collapsing into bed, realizing it was still early in the day. I would wait until at least noon before going to see Dr. Birch. After a quick nap, I got up and started going through boxes, throwing my clothes into drawers and stacking books and knick-knacks on my desk. The empty Poke Balls were dumped into a drawer and I threw the photo album in after them.

I went downstairs for a quick bite of lunch before helping my mom carry some boxes into the attic. When 12:30 rolled around, I made a quick excuse to my mom before heading down to the lab.

It was a medium sized white building with lots of windows. A large sign out front read "Littleroot Laboratory" so I knew I was in the right place. I was greeted by a secretary and led to the back of the building. The woman knocked on a door with a sign that read "Dr. Birch." Yeah, definitely in the right place.

"Come in!" a voice called. The secretary opened the door for me and I stepped into what I assumed was just an office. It wasn't. Dr. Birch had his own laboratory all to himself. "Ah, May, I'm so glad you came by," Dr. Birch said, walking around a table to come shake my hand. "I wanted to thank you again for saving me this morning. As a way to show my gratitude, I wanted to give you the Pokémon you used." He picked a Poke Ball up off the table and handing it to me.

I cradled the red and white ball in my hand. "Are you serious?" I asked, shocked. Dr. Birch nodded and I threw my arms around his neck in a quick hug. "Thank you!"

Dr. Birch looked startled when I released him, but smoothed out his lab coat and cleared his throat. "Yes, well. That's a female Mudkip, a mudfish water Pokémon. He only knows attack and growl, but I'm certain he will learn some new moves soon. Also, I wanted to give you this PokeDex." He handed me a small device with a screen and a few buttons. "This will record information about every Pokémon you come across."

He suddenly looked thoughtful. "You know, if you left soon you could probably catch up with Brendan. I know his mother would feel a lot better if she knew someone was with him."

I could barely believe it. I had a Pokémon! I could start my career as a trainer! I could leave today! The reality suddenly set it.

"I would have to talk about it with my mom first," I said.

"Of course. I won't keep you here any longer. Thank you again for your help this morning, and good luck."

"Thank you so much," I said, back up and suddenly excited to go talk with my mom. "Thank you!" I ran out the door, past a surprised secretary, and out of the Laboratory.

"Mom! Mom!" I shouted as I ran into our house.

"May?" she asked, walking out of her room. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is great!" I said. "Dr. Birch gave me a Pokémon!"

"Oh, but May, I thought you were going to catch your first Pokémon with your father," she said, looking disappointed.

"He said that a year ago, and we still haven't gone. Look," I said, pulling the Poke Ball out of my pocket and releasing the Pokémon. "It's a Mudkip, a Water Pokémon." Mudkip looked around the house curiously before curling up at my feet.

"Oh, it's adorable," she said, already charmed by the little Pokémon. "You and your Pokémon look so good together." She sighed. "You are definitely your father's daughter." She bended over to pet Mudkip. "I suppose this means you'll be leaving then? To start training?" she asked without looking at me. "I can't believe you're a trainer now," she said as she stood up, smiling slightly. "Your father will be so proud. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," I said, leaning forward to give her a tight hug. "I'll miss you Mom."

A/N: Third chapter. More to come tomorrow. Please review!


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